The earth has certain zones within it, in nearly all locations. Man can best utilize the natural topography and technologies that the earth has in place and minimize his impact on the system, thereby making it more whole. In order to accomplish this, he must allow certain places within the earth to remain pristine, so that they may function by design. Following are tips for working within each of the earth’s 8 main functional zones.
Surface water (waterfront)
Land uses consonant with the preservation of surface water include harbor facilities, marinas, water and sewage treatment plants, water-related and water-using industries (i.e. a stone ground millhouse), and large single-structure (1500 SF footprint) estates. Land uses that do not damage water resources include organic agriculture, forestry, recreation, institutional uses (schools), and residential open space. Leave 200’ each side of existing waterways free from development.
Negative ionization, a physical and emotional health benefit of watercourses, is produced by lightning and thunderstorms and occurs naturally at fountains, waterfalls, and during rain. Using these natural elements in the design of you home and landscape will benefit both the earth and you. Make them a destination.
Marshes
Often grassy marshes serve man’s needs for flood and water storage, wildlife habitats, and spawning grounds for fish. These areas are usable for recreation and certain types of agriculture (like cranberry bogs).
Floodplains
Floodplains allow rivers and lakes to overflow, which actually serves to clear out debris that chokes the flow of fresh water. It’s a very useful natural technology in the worldview, though man tends to lose property in the moments when the edges are not so predictable. For that reason, it is best to use 50-year floodplains for uses that can withstand the deluge. Agriculture, forestry, open space, marinas, water-related and utilizing industries, and limited raised housing are appropriate here.
Allow the low parts of stream, river, and lake areas, especially those with grasses but also those within the 50-year floodplain, to remain untouched to allow riparian access to streams, give the water plenty of space to be cleaned, and allow hardwoods to grow. If you want to build near a stream, that’s okay, just build within the forested area so that the grasslands that filter the water for the stream are allowed to function correctly.
Aquifers
Aquifers and their strata of rock, gravel, or sand are keys to clean water. Development in these areas should minimize the impact of sewage treatment. Industry and urbanization in these zones is more than detrimental. It has the capacity to poison the regional ecosystem. Agriculture, forestry, recreation, and low density housing are acceptable uses.
If your settlement is over an aquifer, use a community-wide sewer type system and single mass production plant to make methane for the community house instead of a septic type system, which will spread the effluents all over the (currently functioning) aquifer instead of a localized place where it’s healthy bacteria and scrubbers have a chance to defend the whole.
Aquifer recharge zones
Such areas occur at the intersection of surface water and aquifers. Oftentimes ate periods of low flow, streams and rivers are actually just moving groundwater. If the stream or river is polluted, thus the aquifer becomes polluted. These areas are better left alone, so that they may heal each.
Steep lands
The soil Conservation service recommends not building or farming on soils sloping more that 12% in order to minimize erosion and allow for natural flood control. Steep slopes are recommended for recreation and forestry, with some low-density housing. Only allow 1 house per 3 acres in steep terrain or in the deepest parts of the forest. Do not plow or plant more than 12% of available meadows unless you are using entirely locally occurring plants, and even then only plant 50% of the available space. (This is mainly for the safety and health of the wildlife who may not understand why your carrots are off-limits.)
Forests and Woodlands
Forests improve microclimates around all land use areas. They cast off heavy winds and allow breezes. They diminish erosion, sedimentation, flood, and drought. They offer wildlife habitat, and allow man a space for both recreation and scenic beauty. The forest is low maintenance and self-perpetuating. They are most effectively utilized for forestry, recreation, and housing densities of one unit per acre.
Prime Agricultural Lands
Prime agricultural soils are the most productive agricultural soils, sure, but you may not realize that they also recharge all the topsoil in the area. These rich soils are worthy of our protection, if for no other reason than the ability to use them later.
There are many areas of non-prime agricultural lands. These are perfect for large groupings of buildings. Preserve the best lands you can for cultivation and water/topsoil recharge.
Use only deep, well-drained soils for row agriculture. Do not attempt to use rocky or swampy soils, or steep sites without ecologically minded terracing for agricultural uses.
If there are USDA Category 1 soils on your land, allow a portion of them to remain fallow in service the rest of the land. Use only at most an area equal to 35% of these soils, and use crop rotation techniques, so that your topsoil stays healthy and can be recharged. Only build 1 large building (1500SF footprint) per 25 acres in these prime soil recharge areas.
To understand you state’s soils profiles, go to your state’s page at the USDA, or your country’s equivalent. The USDA page is located here: http://soils.usda.gov/sqi/
As to the design of an eco-restorative settlement of your own or of like-minded beings, it is key to remove all the concepts of boundaries that you come with. A truly ecologically-based site design takes into consideration not just acquisition of the literal chunk of land - but also the relationship between your needs and the land’s. The collective settlement of multiple kin domains, the creation of a community, should aspire to this also, however in order to do so, the community must let go the concept of a square or rectilinear boundary.
In so far as you are able, leave the land alone. Use swales and berms to provide groundwater recharge and direct water flows to ponds, but be mindful of diverting streams, or creating them for that matter. Water and the land are inextricably in relationship so mindful management is critical for the survival of both, as well as to the health and well being of the plants and animals. Berms can also serve as a leech field for sewage, allowing the higher ground to serve the filtration purpose before the effluent gets into the groundwater.
Allow your natural weed management system – goats and otherwise – to free range so that erosion is not localized and the plants have a chance to heal.
